Thursday, March 13, 2014

As
I was strolling through a slim paperback on little known historical facts, to
my dismay, I found out that I am older than sliced bread which was developed in
1928.

Something far
older than either me or sliced bread is the onion, lost in the mists of
antiquity, six thousand years.Its
origin is unknown, but a plant similar to the wild onion has been found in Turkestan.It’s certainly
from somewhere in Central or Western Asia.It’s far older than the tomato which comes
from a fruit that was grown in the Andes and
used by the Incas.

The
onion’s strong odor and flavor are the reasons for its widespread use
throughout the world and the chief reason that gardeners grow onions in their
backyards.Backyard-grown is always
better than store-bought.Along with
being a culinary delight, onions are easy to grow and are spectacularly good
for the eater.They are jammed with
nutrients.As a matter of fact, they’re
richer than tomatoes, carrots, and red peppers.The combination of ease of growing, great taste, and nutritionally rich
is hard to beat.

Some
of its possible health benefits are the prevention of cancer and heart
attacks.It is also thought to be
beneficial in diabetes.For further
information on the health benefits of the onion, type in your browser: whfood.org
and then click on onions.A vegetable
that tastes good and is full of nutritional goodies is not to be dismissed,
especially in an era of ersatz food, such as “processed foods” or “fast foods.”

As
for its culinary uses, the richer leaves are the outer leaves so the best
tactic is to peel away only what is necessary of the dry, brown outer
leaves.Some people eat onions raw like
an apple.When I had an office on Westwood Blvd in Los Angeles, there was a
Persian restaurant nearby which used lots of onions.The waiters, as well as being condescending,
ate onions like apples during their breaks.At any rate, Persian cuisine is, along with the French and Chinese,
thought to be one of the finest cuisines in the world.So instead of one more Greek restaurant,
pizza parlor, hamburger joint, or Mexican and Thai restaurant, how about a
Persian restaurant in Flagstaff? Failing
that, maybe restaurants with imaginative and capable chefs can offer some
Persian entrées.

Onions can be
grown in three different ways, seed, transplant, or sets.Transplants have already started to develop a
bulb.Sets are immature onions sold in
bunches.Seeds take a long time and are
particularly difficult in cold climates.Sets are easy to grow and can be purchased from commercial nurseries or
online.The drawback of onion sets is
the limited variety of onions available.

The
first thing to do is prepare the bed with compost and organic material and a
good 10-10-10 fertilizer before the middle of March.Buy or order the varieties of onion sets
desired.About the middle of March ― certainly
before the onset of April ― plant the onion sets about five inches apart and an
inch or so deep.Onions require lots of
water, so it’s smart to plant them in trenches in order to save water.A couple of weeks after planting the sets,
they should be side-dressed with a high nitrogen fertilizer and watered
straightaway and repeated every three weeks during growing season which is
fifty to sixty days.

Onions
are categorized not only by variety but also by length of day, short day,
intermediate day, and long day.Onions
need sunlight, and Flagstaff
falls right between intermediate and short day.It’s safe to plant an intermediate day onion with an added short day,
such as the varieties Superstar and 1015-Y Supersweet.If harvesting green onions in addition to
mature onions, pull them early in the season when they’re immature.Onions mature when the stalks fall over.After about a week, the mature onions should
be pulled and allowed to dry before being stored.

If
eaten raw, it’s best to remember the Arab proverb:“Never deny a man his breath.”